Framingham man charged with boating death of friend

Thursday

May 22, 2014 at 12:01 AMMay 22, 2014 at 10:06 AM

By Norman MillerDaily News Staff

NATICK -- A Framingham man ran over his friend with a boat in Lake Cochituate in Natick Last year, killing the man and then lying to environmental police about how it happened, authorities said.Luciano Pereira, 23, pleaded not guilty at his Natick District Court arraignment on Wednesday to allegations that his negligent operation of a boat killed Jefferson Nunes, 23, of Framingham, on July 4, 2013. Natick District Court is housed in Framingham District Court.According to a report filed in court by the state environmental police, the incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. on July 4. Pereira was steering the boat and Nunes was being towed behind on a wake board."Pereira said he believed Nunes slipped while attempting to get back into the boat at the stern," the report said. "He said he heard the engine hit something then looked back and saw Nunes floating face down."Both Pereira and another man on the boat were given Breathalyzer tests and neither tested positive for alcohol, although beer was found on the boat, the report said.When Pereira gave a written statement, he changed his story, saying Nunes grabbed the rope to continue wake boarding when he somehow went under before coming up hurt and unconscious, the report said.Nunes was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center where he later died. The state medical examiner ruled that Nunes suffered a fractured skull with brain damage, as well as lacerations on his face, arms and hands from the propeller.A witness, however, told environmental police a different story. He said Nunes was on the wake board when the boat suddenly accelerated and went too close to Nunes."(The witness) said the boat hit the wake boarder," the report said. "He counted off two or three seconds and saw the wake boarder float to the surface. (The witness) yelled to the operator, 'You just hit him. Are you going to help him?' "The witness said Pereira jumped into the water and dragged Nunes into the boat, but they both fell back into the water when the boat accelerated quickly. Pereira dragged Nunes back into the boat and they went to the landing dock near the Natick Army Labs.After the investigation, the environmental police charged Pereira, of Edmands Road, with homicide by negligent operation of a boat. Pereira was not arrested but was summoned to court.At Pereira's Natick District Court arraignment on Wednesday, prosecutor Nate Burris did not ask for bail, but asked Judge Martine Carroll to order Pereira to not operate a boat and to surrender his passport, which Carroll ordered.Pereira is due back in court on June 30 for a pretrial conference.Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date crime news, follow Norman Miller on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW.